Winemaker Notes
Le Ragnaie is known for its elegant, terroir-driven wines that stand out in this Tuscan powerhouse category. Le Ragnaie Ragnaie Vigna Vecchia Brunello di Montalcino is fresh on the palate with notes of crunchy cherry, orange peel, licorice, wild herbs and crushed stone. Terrific balance and length.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The V. V. stands for old vines. With fruit from 50-year-old plants, the Le Ragnaie 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Ragnaie V. V. is one of three black-label special selections made by this estate. Instead of a Riserva program, Le Ragnaie focuses on territorial identity and single-vineyard expressions. This pretty wine shows the distinctive concentration that comes from the old vines, but that is also a result of the hot growing season. Dark fruit, rose, spice and baked clay emerge from this medium to full-bodied Brunello. Production is 3,800 bottles. Best after 2024.
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Wine Spectator
A sinewy version, featuring black cherry and black currant flavors enmeshed in dense, dusty tannins. Nonetheless, this is vibrant and fluid, staying focused through the long, chalky finish. Best from 2025
Among Italy's elite red grape varieties, Sangiovese has the perfect intersection of bright red fruit and savory earthiness and is responsible for the best red wines of Tuscany. While it is best known as the chief component of Chianti, it is also the main grape in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and reaches the height of its power and intensity in the complex, long-lived Brunello di Montalcino. Somm Secret—Sangiovese doubles under the alias, Nielluccio, on the French island of Corsica where it produces distinctly floral and refreshing reds and rosés.
Famous for its bold, layered and long-lived red, Brunello di Montalcino, the town of Montalcino is about 70 miles south of Florence, and has a warmer and drier climate than that of its neighbor, Chianti. The Sangiovese grape is king here, as it is in Chianti, but Montalcino has its own clone called Brunello.
The Brunello vineyards of Montalcino blanket the rolling hills surrounding the village and fan out at various elevations, creating the potential for Brunello wines expressing different styles. From the valleys, where deeper deposits of clay are found, come wines typically bolder, more concentrated and rich in opulent black fruit. The hillside vineyards produce wines more concentrated in red fruits and floral aromas; these sites reach up to over 1,600 feet and have shallow soils of rocks and shale.
Brunello di Montalcino by law must be aged a minimum of four years, including two years in barrel before realease and once released, typically needs more time in bottle for its drinking potential to be fully reached. The good news is that Montalcino makes a “baby brother” version. The wines called Rosso di Montalcino are often made from younger vines, aged for about a year before release, offer extraordinary values and are ready to drink young.